A Promise Is a Promise

To people of integrity, their word is their bond. They do what they say, when they said they’d do it, how they said they’d do it. People of integrity realise that those who promise are in debt.

When I say that our word should be our bond, I mean in matters large and small.

If we say we will do something, we must do it, even if we don’t specifically use the word “promise”. If leaders and salespeople forget this, their reputations suffer.

Leaders in particular should follow through and be seen by their people as doing what they said they would do. If you want your people do be consistent with their words and actions, lead the way. Then, and only then, you have the right to insist that everyone else on your team does the same.

I have never seen a winning team where there is even so much as one team-member who fails to do what they said they would do. If team members break their word to their leader, you can bet that they are letting clients down too.

Deliver on promises

Seeing as many clients as they do, salespeople can say they will do many things, but often don’t deliver. Some salespeople don’t see these statements as promises, but if you tell a client you will do something, you’ve made a promise. And if you don’t deliver, a client’s faith in you erodes.

It is a good habit to set a deadline for the delivery of each promise at the time you make it, and then enter the promise in your diary. If work must be done prior to delivering the promise, enter a date for that work to be done so you are ready by the deadline.

Be a hero

It’s better to say, “I’ll get back to you about that by 3 pm tomorrow. Does that work for you?” than it is to say, “I’ll get back to you about that”. Giving the client a time and asking if that time is suitable means that the client will not be expecting to hear from you until 3 pm the next day. Get back to them before then and you’re a hero. Get back later and they are disappointed in you.

Provided you enter the promise into your diary immediately upon making the promise, you won’t forget, you’ll deliver your promise and you will impress the client.

Customer service can so bad these days that it doesn’t take much to impress clients. One of the best ways to impress is to be consistent with your word.

A promise is a promise. Deliver on what you say you will do, and you will be regarded as a reliable and dependable professional – the kind of professional that gets plenty of referrals throughout their career.